The Burning Island

Myth and History in Volcano Country, Hawai‘i

Westerners—from early missionaries to explorers to present-day artists, scientists, and tourists—have always found volcanoes fascinating and disturbing. Native Hawaiians, in contrast, revere volcanoes as a source of spiritual energy and see the volcano goddess Pele as part of the natural cycle of a continuously procreative cosmos. Volcanoes hold a special place in our curiosity about nature.

The Burning Island is an intimate, multilayered portrait of the Hawaiian volcano region—a land marked by a precarious tension between the harsh reality of constant geologic change, respect for mythological traditions, and the pressures of economic exploitation. Pamela Frierson treks up Mauna Loa, the world’s largest active volcano, and Kilauea to explore how volcanoes work, as well as how their powerful and destructive forces reshape land, cultures, and history. Her adventures reveal surprising archeological ruins, threatened rainforest ecosystems, and questionable real estate development of the islands. Now a classic of nature writing, Frierson’s narrative sets the stage for a larger exploration of our need to take great care in respecting and preserving nature and tradition while balancing our ever-expanding sense of discovery and use of the land.

Praise

“An extraordinary book. . . . Frierson has tackled one of the most profund issues in Hawai‘i.”

— Honolulu Star Bulletin

“A compelling personal narrative . . . Highly recommended.”

— Library Journal (starred review)

“Intertwining myth, science, history and personal narrative makes complex worlds tangible in The Last Atoll and The Burning Island. Instead of struggling through the academic, specialized language that nature writing can sometimes employ, readers are there, wide-eyed and learning alongside Frierson. These stories offer a connection to our place in this fascinating ecosystem, and through that connection, a sense of belonging.”
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Pamela Frierson is the author of The Last Atoll: Exploring Hawai‘is Endangered Ecosystems and The Burning Island: Myth and History in Volcano Country, Hawai‘i, as well as many articles and essays about the Pacific world. Her work has appeared in several anthologies, including The World Between Waves, A Thousand Leagues of Blue and Intimate Nature. She is one of forty-four writers invited by Barry Lopez to write original work for Home Ground: Language for an American Landscape, featured on...